Dollar Bay-Tamarack City's Breanna Datto, right, goes up for a block against Chassell's Hailey McClure on Monday, Sept. 9, 2019, in Dollar Bay, Mich. (Adam Niemi/The Daily Mining Gazette)

DOLLAR BAY — The Chassell Panthers clawed their way to 3-0 over the Dollar Bay-Tamarack City Blue Bolts on Monday.

The straight-set victory (25-11, 25-15, 25-16) was the first for the Panthers on the season. They are now 1-1 on the new season.

“We had some really good offense tonight,” said Chassell head coach Karli Michaels.

Among her big hitters was Katie Huhta who had eight aces from the service line and five kills. Maelene Warren had seven aces and 11 kills. Shannon Rantamaki rounded it out with six aces and seven kills.

“Those girls all really had good games tonight,” Michaels said.

In the first set Dollar Bay had their one and only lead of the night as the pushed out to a 7-5 lead. However, Chassell’s Katie Huhta came to the line and put up three aces in a row to push the Panthers ahead. She would stay at the line for seven more points before the Blue Bolts regained possession but they wouldn’t be enough.

In the second set, Warren opened the offense for the Panthers with three aces and four points. They then moved to 14-6 lead. Dollar Bay’s senior Lexie Turner put six points on the board for the Blue Bolts, but it was too little too late as the Panthers went on to a 25-15 win.

The third set looked similar to the second. The Panthers marched out to a 10-5 lead. While Dollar Bay had opportunities to put some consecutive points on the board, they struggled with errant hits and missed serves. In short, they just couldn’t capitalize when they got the ball.

For the Panthers, Rantamaki led this set with two aces and run of six as she and her team closed the match out with a 25-16 victory.

“This was a good win but I wish the girls would talk more on the court,” Michaels said. “We had a couple of balls that were missed that shouldn’t have been. Its something to work on.”

Dollar Bay visits Hancock today. Chassell plays in the Baraga Invite on Saturday.

L’Anse sweeps Watersmeet

The L’Anse Purple Hornets took down the Watersmeet Nimrods in three sets by scores of 30-28, 25-13 and 25-11.

“Despite the win, the girls need to focus a little more,” L’Anse head coach Callie Budweg said. “The girls get themselves a little rattled and then it becomes very difficult to bring them back into the game. There’s the potential for a very deep team, but my girls have to find that heart.”

L’Anse junior Alayna Waara led the team with 10 kills. Kailyn Voskuhl led the defense with 20 digs. Senior Brynn VanBuren had 23 assists.

L’Anse visits Ewent-Trout Creek on Thursday.